Know Thyselfish

"Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side."

That is not reason, it's randomness. Although the chicken appears to have a "reason" for his actions, his motivations, as far as we can tell, are random. A random desire to get to the other side is not reasonable. Thereby, the chicken can be shown not to be a creature of reason.

Human beings, contrarily, are creatures of reason. We do not act randomly; rather, we act as a result of motivation. And, unlike the chicken's random motivation, our motivations, being reasonable, follow a set of predictable rules, traced back to a fundamental principle: selfishness. Human beings are, by default, selfish. And it's a good thing, too.

Sandcastles

Our civilization is going to fall. There is no doubt about it; like the Babylonians and Persians before us, the Romans and Greeks, or the Mayans and Aztecs, our nation will collapse.

Only, we don't really believe it. Some of us deny it, others nod in agreement, but few really understand that truth. We are so close to our reality, so involved in the present time that it is next to impossible to legitimately remove ourselves and step back far enough to acknowledge the inevitable. Nothing lives forever, and, although we may be happy and prosperous for the time being, eventually our end must come, even if the end is many thousands of years away.

Inside a Black Hole

Yesterday, I didn't post to the blog. This was because I was trapped in a black hole. Time slowed down, the world around me vanished, and as much as I wanted to escape, I could see no way out.

Okay, that's an exaggeration. In truth, I just didn't feel like blogging. I was bored with it; it had little appeal. In truth, nothing about blogging had changed. I was still using the same laptop, writing on the same blog, doing everything that had been fun and exciting just days before. Something was different, not with the situation, but with me. My mental state was altered, and that is the root of boredom.

It is a common misconception that things can be boring. They cannot. People, however, can be bored. To be bored is not to be affected by a boring situation; rather, to be bored is an emotional state of being, akin to being tired, angry, or wanting of Recess Puff cereal. It has less to do with what is going on outside and much more to do with what is occurring within.

Which Came First, the Observation or the Trait?

Have you ever noticed how, after receiving a compliment, you strive to be as that which you were described?

If someone comes by and tells you what a nice person you are, and that you always make time for others, you enjoy the compliment. It makes you feel good, and you like knowing that others have good feelings towards you, thanks to this quality that they see in you. And so, suddenly aware of this new reflection on your character, you make every effort to be nice and to make time for others. You want to keep feeling good, you want to keep being liked, and so you become that which you described.

The phenomenon occurs all the time. If a worker is told he is doing a good job, it encourages him to keep (or start) doing a good job. If a friend is complimented for always making time, he will continue (or begin) to make an effort to always make time. If the president is given the Nobel Peace prize, perhaps the intent is that he will begin making peace - either to eliminate the guilt felt for not yet deserving the compliment, or because he feels good and wants to continue promoting his image. The same holds true for all of us.

Walking on Water?

Religion. It's a collection of stories about Moses, Jesus, Mohammad, Buddah, whoever. A lot of people like to ask, "Are the stories true?"

The answer I like best is, "It doesn't matter." But how can it not matter?

Let's do some teaching by example. Take the biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah. For anyone behind on Torah, here's the recap: Sodom and Gomorrah are two cities of which the inhabitants have sinned. G-d wants to destroy them, but Abraham pleads with G-d that if he can find some good people, would G-d please not destroy the cities? Ultimately, G-d agrees that if Abraham can find but one good person, the cities will be spared. Abraham fails to do so; the cities are destroyed.

Take a look a how this story can be interpreted. One person might look at this and say, "Aha! According to the bible, G-d was willing to spare thousands of guilty men if there could be one innocent man! Clearly, this teaches that capital punishment is immoral; on the chance of there being innocent people executed, we must spare the guilty from death!" Another person might turn right around and counter, "Nonsense! The cities were destroyed - there were no innocent people - so that's not what it teaches! More importantly, do you realize what the people there were guilty of? The bible implies homosexuality! Clearly, being gay is wrong!"

The Human Mind

The thing about the human mind is that each one is completely unique, and you really only ever get to be in yours. You'll never get to know what it's like to think through someone else's mind, because you can't simultaneously be aware of your thoughts and someone else's. Even if you could jump into a different brain, as soon as you got there, you'd forget whatever your brain was thinking; you'd be them. So it's a one-at-a-time sort of deal. Whatever mind you have, it's yours, and that's all you got.

Fair enough. But if that's the case, how do we know what other people experience? Communication, of course. If I saw someone, did something, or felt some way, I could tell you about it. I could speak, write, play charades; whatever it took to convey my message.

But what if, all this time, we haven't really been communicating properly. Is it possible that, somehow, there is an inherent miscommunication owing to the fact that we can only experience one mind at a time?

Let us consider. View, if you would, the following image: